In the words of Charlie Chaplin, "A day without laughter is a day wasted." Fortunately for children and the adults who take care of them, laughter is one of the primary sounds heard on a well-designed playground. Thanks to the help of Computer-Aided Design (CAD), playgrounds can now be more readily designed to meet the specific needs of schools, parks and recreation areas. 

What Is CAD?

CAD is a type of software that can be used in the creation, modification, analysis and design of a playground (or other project). This innovative software helps designers, like May Recreation, complete a wide variety of design and engineering tasks. From completing all of the designing operations to making various calculations, CAD can help designers avoid cumbersome project delays, improve productivity levels, and inevitably create a beautiful playground that generations of children will enjoy. 

What Are the Benefits of Using CAD? 

Did you know that CAD has numerous benefits? From increasing productivity to creating the necessary documentation for a more seamless building experience, CAD can help designers and clients achieve the optimal results on every project.

1. Increase Design Efficiencies. One of the top benefits of CAD is its ability to help both the client and designer visualize the final playground layout. Each component of the playground can be carefully examined. In fact, CAD creates the foundation needed for iterative feedback loops, whereby the client can deliver their comments, the designer can make changes, and then animation, images or videos can be used so that the client can understand the overarching impact of the adjustments. The moral of the story is simple: CAD software helps designers to drastically improve their productivity, which translates into lower design costs, short project completion times and happier clients. 
2. Support High-Quality Results. CAD software provides a heightened level of accuracy, which means that the potential for costly errors is drastically reduced. CAD also has a wide selection of tools that designers can use to effectively mitigate possible building, maintenance or financial risks. The end result of the latter two features is a more effective manufacturing process that reduces waste, lowers costs, eliminates faulty design and ultimately delivers a high-quality final product. 
3. Create Vital Documentation. Documentation is one of the key aspects for successfully designing, building and installing a beautiful playground. In this vein, CAD helps designers create the vital documentation needed for project success. This documentation includes the dimensions, geometries, subassemblies, materials and specifications for each piece of playground equipment. 

The Bottom Line: CAD Provides the Blueprint for Building High-Quality Playgrounds 

Designing a playground that children of all ages can enjoy doesn't have to be a time-consuming, frustrating or even cumbersome process. Instead, through the use of CAD, May Recreation is able to leverage this powerful software to create the ideal playground that meets the specific requirements of every client. Through CAD's unique set of tools, May Recreation can design various layouts, showcase different images and videos, and ultimately help clients visualize the final design. To learn more about how May Recreation can design the optimal playground for your school, park or recreation area, contact a member of the team today! To learn more about the entire playground design, installation and maintenance process, we invite you to download our Free Playground Planning Guide.